The Minister stated “I was delighted to secure funding for a number of new supports for farmers in this year’s budget.  As my Department rolls out these exciting new  initiatives such as the Programme of Farmer Training on Health and Safety, Agri-Environment Measures such as Biodiversity training for farmers and on-farm Biodiversity studies,  the  National Soil Sampling Programme, a new results-based Pilot project and new supports for the tillage sector, I  expect that the provision of high quality professional advice will have a key role to play. Similarly, as we prepare for the introduction of a new Common Agricultural Policy to help the sector respond to environmental and economic and social challenges, providing agricultural consultants with the most up to date information available will be a central element of our approach.”

The Minister confirmed that his Department will shortly be consulting with the relevant stakeholders regarding of the design and delivery of the training.

Minister McConalogue Announces Advance Payments of €781 million under the 2020 Basic Payment Scheme

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D., today announced the commencement of advance payments under the 2020 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) (including Greening).

The Minister said, “I am happy to confirm that that advance payments under the BPS, worth €781 million to 118,000 farmers, have commenced today. These payments are a vital support for farmers across the country and contribute greatly to maximising income and cashflow in the sector in what has been a very challenging year for farmers.”

The Minister continued, “A key priority for my Department is the efficient issuing of scheme payments to farmers.  The BPS advance payment is commencing today at the earliest date possible under EU Regulations.  The payment is set at a rate of 70%, which is an increase on the 50% normally allowed under regulation.”

The Minister also commented that “compared to the advance payments made at this stage last year, an additional 3,500 farmers have received an advance payment in the first run of payments this year.  This represents an additional €34 million.  In all, some 97 % of eligible applicants for the 2020 BPS are receiving their advance payment at the earliest date possible.”

Payments under the 2020 Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme (ANC) which started in September are also continuing as more cases are cleared for payment.  The Minister added that “the advance BPS payment and the advance ANC payments taken together mean that some €974 million has now issued to Irish farmers in the last month.”

In order to facilitate farmers wishing to contact the Department regarding their BPS or ANC payments, extended hours are in place for the Direct Payments Helpline.  From Monday the 19^th of October to Friday the 23^rd of October, the Helpdesk will be available to answer farmers queries up to 8.30pm each evening. Farmers can ring the Helpdesk at 076 106 4420.  Farmers can also submit any queries they may have online via www.agfood.ie.

 In conclusion the Minister stated “given the central importance of the many schemes currently in place, my Department has recently written to all farmers outlining the payment schedule over the coming months for these schemes. I am committed to ensuring that these payments continue to issue in the most efficient way possible to ensure that these vital supports are delivered to farmers in a timely manner.

With this in mind, regular pay runs will be in place over the coming weeks to pay BPS and ANC cases as they become cleared for payment.  Farmers who have been contacted by my Department with queries in relation to their applications should also respond at their earliest convenience in order to facilitate payment.” 

The Minister stated “I was delighted to secure funding for a number of new supports for farmers in this year’s budget.  As my Department rolls out these exciting new  initiatives such as the Programme of Farmer Training on Health and Safety, Agri-Environment Measures such as Biodiversity training for farmers and on-farm Biodiversity studies,  the  National Soil Sampling Programme, a new results-based Pilot project and new supports for the tillage sector, I  expect that the provision of high quality professional advice will have a key role to play. Similarly, as we prepare for the introduction of a new Common Agricultural Policy to help the sector respond to environmental and economic and social challenges, providing agricultural consultants with the most up to date information available will be a central element of our approach.”

The Minister confirmed that his Department will shortly be consulting with the relevant stakeholders regarding of the design and delivery of the training.

Minister McConalogue Announces Advance Payments of €781 million under the 2020 Basic Payment Scheme

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D., today announced the commencement of advance payments under the 2020 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) (including Greening).

The Minister said, “I am happy to confirm that that advance payments under the BPS, worth €781 million to 118,000 farmers, have commenced today. These payments are a vital support for farmers across the country and contribute greatly to maximising income and cashflow in the sector in what has been a very challenging year for farmers.”

The Minister continued, “A key priority for my Department is the efficient issuing of scheme payments to farmers.  The BPS advance payment is commencing today at the earliest date possible under EU Regulations.  The payment is set at a rate of 70%, which is an increase on the 50% normally allowed under regulation.”

The Minister also commented that “compared to the advance payments made at this stage last year, an additional 3,500 farmers have received an advance payment in the first run of payments this year.  This represents an additional €34 million.  In all, some 97 % of eligible applicants for the 2020 BPS are receiving their advance payment at the earliest date possible.”

Payments under the 2020 Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme (ANC) which started in September are also continuing as more cases are cleared for payment.  The Minister added that “the advance BPS payment and the advance ANC payments taken together mean that some €974 million has now issued to Irish farmers in the last month.”

In order to facilitate farmers wishing to contact the Department regarding their BPS or ANC payments, extended hours are in place for the Direct Payments Helpline.  From Monday the 19^th of October to Friday the 23^rd of October, the Helpdesk will be available to answer farmers queries up to 8.30pm each evening. Farmers can ring the Helpdesk at 076 106 4420.  Farmers can also submit any queries they may have online via www.agfood.ie.

 In conclusion the Minister stated “given the central importance of the many schemes currently in place, my Department has recently written to all farmers outlining the payment schedule over the coming months for these schemes. I am committed to ensuring that these payments continue to issue in the most efficient way possible to ensure that these vital supports are delivered to farmers in a timely manner.

With this in mind, regular pay runs will be in place over the coming weeks to pay BPS and ANC cases as they become cleared for payment.  Farmers who have been contacted by my Department with queries in relation to their applications should also respond at their earliest convenience in order to facilitate payment.” 

The Minister of State for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (with responsibility for Farm Safety), Martin Heydon T.D. and Chief Executive Officer of the Health and Safety Authority, Dr Sharon McGuinness, today jointly launched an on-line Tractor Safety Awareness Training Course, in conjunction with the Irish Farmers Journal. 

Following consultation between the Department and the Direct Payments Advisory Committee, comprising members of the main farming bodies and agricultural advisory and education providers, provision will now be made for applications to the National Reserve in 2020.  The EU Regulations underpinning the operation of the National Reserve provide for priority access to the mandatory categories of ‘Young Farmer’ and ‘New Entrant to Farming’.  The funding for the National Reserve in 2020 will be met from natural replenishment of the fund without the requirement for a linear cut to the value of all Basic Payment Scheme entitlements.  It is expected that the funding in place for the 2020 National Reserve will be in the region of €3 million, which based on the level of applications in recent years will be sufficient to meet the expected demand.

Successful applicants to the National Reserve receive an allocation of entitlements at National Average value or a top-up to the National Average value on entitlements that are below the national average. 

Full details of the operation of the scheme, including Terms and Conditions, will be available when the scheme opens for online applications in February 2020 to coincide with the opening of online Basic Payment Scheme applications. The closing date for receipt of applications under the scheme will be 15^th May 2020.

While the detailed Terms and Conditions of the National Reserve for 2020 will be made available when the schemes launch for online applications in February, it is expected that the terms and conditions will be consistent with those that applied in recent years

The open call for submissions is part of the CAP post 2020 consultation process, under which each Member State is required to conduct a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat analysis (SWOT) of the geographic area covered by the CAP Strategic Plan, and to engage with civil society and stakeholders to ensure the SWOT is fully reflective of the situation.

Legal Requirement

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, places a legal duty on employers to prepare and work to a safety statement, However, farmers with 3 or less employees will be able to fulfil their statutory duty under the 2005 Act simply by completing a Risk Assessment Document.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed, T.D. today announced a simplification of requirements under the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) in relation to the eligibility of Stock Bulls under the programme.

Participants in the programme using a stock bull are required to have at least one bull on their holding on the 30^th of June 2019 who was a minimum of 12 months old and was rated at 4 or 5 stars on the Replacement and/or Terminal Index, within and/or across breed on the first genomic evaluation or the genomic evaluation at the time of purchase.

There are 2 simplifications to this requirement:

• Where a bull on the holding had a published genomic evaluation and had been deemed ineligible as it was rated at 3 stars or less on that first genotyping evaluation, it can now be deemed eligible if the bull is now rated at 4 or 5 stars.
• Where bull is in the herd on the 30 of June but has yet to be sampled, once a sample is received by the lab on or before the 30 June and the genotyping process has commenced, this will be considered eligible provided the bull is rated 4 or 5 stars on its subsequent genomic evaluation. This will mean that the July 2019 evaluation (published 22 July) and the Sept 2019 evaluation (published 23 Sep) will now be counted for eligibility purposes.

Minister Creed said “I am pleased to announce this simplification of the Stock Bull requirement under Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP).  Officials from my Department have been working closely with their counterparts in the ICBF on this issue and I feel this pragmatic approach to what is a key requirement should lead to as many participants as possible receiving their full payment in 2019 under this important Programme. They have identified a number of herds that are currently not meeting this requirement and will be contacting them in the coming days to advise them of their obligations under the Programme.”

KT NATIONAL EVENTS

28/06/2019   Beef event run by Teagasc - Catherine Egan And Animal Health Ireland  on the Farm of David Mc Keague, Claggan, Culdaff, Co. Donegal 11.00am to 1.00pm 10.45am to 11.45am BEEF ONLY EVENT

04/07/2019   Sheepevent run by Sheep Ireland / Kevin McDermott at Rathgreedan House, Rathgreedan, Edenderry, Co. Offaly 7.00pm to 9.00pm 6.45pm to 7.45pm

HEALTH AND SAFETY COURSE FOR TAMS

We are currently taking names for participants for a health and safety course for anyone that has submitted a TAMS application. It is a requirement under TAMS that you have to complete a Health and safety course before you can submit your application for payment.

If you have submitted an application for a TAMS and need to complete, a Health and Safety course contact our office for full details of cost and when the course is running and the location.

Minister of State for Agriculture Food and the Marine, Andrew Doyle T.D., with responsibility for forestry, today launched Ireland’s Tree Volume Calculator. This calculator has been developed to allow forest owners and managers to estimate tree volume online, using basic tree information for the main conifer and broadleaf tree species. Tree volume is an important unit of measurement as it details the size of a tree, which can be used to inform forest management decisions.  It will also assist in determining the value of a tree or forest.

7 events over 7 days in aid of Pieta House North West and Jigsaw Donegal.

Thomas Given and Joe Coyle are doing seven events over 7 days in aid of the above charities from the 11^th to the 17^th of June. these events include the following.

North West Women in Farming event will be held in CoLab, LYIT  Letterkenny on Thursday the 24^th May 2018 at 7.30pm.

Under the terms of the GLAS scheme, all farmers in the scheme must attend a GLAS Training Course carried out by an GLAS approved trainer in order to comply with the scheme .

A truly inspirational and motivational event is due to take place on

Saturday April 14^th in Solis Lough Eske Castle from 9.00 until 3.00 or 4.00 depending on the final line up of speakers.

The Sustainable Use Directive (SUD) has been introduced to Ireland within the past year. This directive will affect all users of Pesticides (Herbicides, insecticides, fungicides etc.). One of SUD’s main aims is to reduce the risk or danger of pesticide use on the environment and consequently on human health. SUD is strongly encouraging the use of Integrated pest management (IPM). SUD will only affect professional users or distributors of pesticides. The four main areas the SUD was categorised is as follows:

The seed for this project was sown in Arigna, Co. Roscommon in May of 2016 when Roscommon LEADER Partnership, coupled with Bank of Ireland, delivered training on Agfood.ie and Online Banking.

Under the terms of the GLAS scheme, all farmers in the scheme must attend a GLAS Training Course carried out by an GLAS approved trainer in order to comply with the scheme .

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, reminded dog owners today that, under the microchipping regulations in force since March 2016, all dogs over 12 weeks of age must be microchipped and registered on an approved database.